Action Planning

What is action planning?

Action planning turns an intention into a specific description of what you will do. When will it happen? Where? For how long? A plan gives those questions answers.

How it works

“After lunch on weekdays, I will walk around the block for ten minutes” is an action plan. It names the behavior and specifies when and for how long it will happen.

The Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy defines action planning as technique 1.4. Its definition requires at least one detail about context, frequency, duration, or intensity. Setting a goal, working through obstacles, and reviewing progress can accompany a plan, but the taxonomy describes them as separate techniques.

Putting an Action Plan into Practice

In everyday planning, you may choose a goal, identify obstacles, schedule the work, carry it out, and review progress. Those activities help put the plan into practice. A useful review asks whether the steps, timing, and resources still fit the goal.

From a plan to a workable routine

Imagine trying the ten-minute lunchtime walk and finding that meetings repeatedly occupy the lunch break. The obstacle is now specific. You could move the walk to immediately after arriving home, try that time for a week, and note which days it fits. If the route or timing still gets in the way, revise that detail or choose another activity that serves the same goal.

Larger tasks need similar detail. “Prepare a presentation” can become three actions: outline the argument on Monday, draft the slides on Tuesday, and rehearse on Wednesday. Each can have its own time and place. Choosing the goal, solving obstacles, and checking progress support these action plans; they remain distinct techniques in the taxonomy.

Why it matters

“Exercise more” leaves a lot undecided. A specific plan makes it easier to see what you intend to do and whether it fits your day. It also gives you something to revise if the timing, setting, or action proves unsuitable. Writing the plan is a useful step; following it still depends on the behavior and the circumstances.